Fonda is an Evanston Mexican restaurant from the chef behind Aboyer, an acclaimed restaurant in Winnetka. While Aboyer is French, the team has eagerly tackled modern Mexican cuisine using a fine dining approach. The result is the type of Mexican restaurant that would flourish within city limits and worth a trip to the suburbs.

Joe Fontelera has made it. The accomplished chef who once helmed the kitchen at Michelin-starred sushi station Arami has opened his own restaurant with a ton of personal meaning. Boonie’s is a Filipino American restaurant in the Lincoln Square area where Fontelera’s family first moved to after arriving in America. Find Fil-Am favorites from lumpia to loganissa executed with a modern edge and with a ton of joy. It’s a casual spot and poised to join Kasama as Chicago’s next great Filipino spot.

A few years ago, Chicago’s vegan options were a bit drab when it came to fine and casual dining. Junk food vegans enjoyed their chain restaurants (many international restaurants understood the appeal of cooking without meat and properly seasoning vegetables), but the lineup wasn’t especially eclectic. Rodolfo Cuadros (Amaru, Bloom Plant Based Kitchen) is changing that with his third restaurant. Don Bucio’s Taqueria in Logan Square focuses on delicious veggies and uses chef-driven techniques to produce delicious results. The vegan pastor — which forms a cone out of chopped veggies before roasting on a vertical spit — is an example of the genius involved.

The wife-and-husband culinary team that powered Logan Square Greek hit Andros Taverna has formed a new hospitality group that includes a new River North steakhouse. Asador Bastian is a gorgeous multi-level space, a former art gallery, and it doesn’t match what most Chicagoans think about when they imagine what a steak should look like. Former Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ partner and chef Doug Psaltis and stellar pastry chef Hsing Chen say this Spanish steakhouse has special meaning to them — it specializes in one cut of meat, Txuleton, which is popular in Spain’s Basque region. The beef comes from a small farm in Pennsylvania. It’s a unique experience for groups, dates, and it’s still a steakhouse so get polish those corporate credit cards.

Even though dinner service hasn’t debuted — it debuts on Friday, February 3, the Sears’ former headquarters has a buzz. Kindling sits on the ground floor of the Willis Tower with a James Beard Award-winning chef, Jonathon Sawyer, helming a live-fire kitchen which brings a little flair to a well-thought out menu with a little bit for everything. Confit chicken wings, fresh pastas, and plenty of meaty specials are part of the restaurant’s repertoire. 

Daisies is a pasta shop and Midwestern comfort restaurant that endeared itself to the Logan Square community in its tinier original iteration. In April, the operations moved a few blocks southeast, still along Milwaukee Avenue, to a gorgeous and roomier space. The kitchen has more amenities to serve a large menu of pasta (a giant seasonal ravioli is impressive; right now it’s stuffed with ramps) and more composed dishes. There are also delicious pastries and coffee (La Colombe’s roastery is just next-door). Daisies 2.0 is one of the hottest reservations in town.

Kimski debuted as a Korean and Polish companion to Maria’s Community Tavern, one of Chicago’s most popular dive bars. But the fusion schtick got old for chef Won Kim who’s now leaning into a casual Korean American menu with items like a bulgogi cheesesteak and a ssam plate that uses smoked brisket. 

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ latest takes cues from Napa Valley with a large wine selection and comfort bites. The wine program will feature a California winery every month and give patrons a chance to buy bottles for home consumption. The goal is to transport diners to wine country. LEYE has put a lot of thought into the design to bring a taste of Northern California to Fulton Market.

Fioretta is the latest endeavor from DineAmic Hospitality Group, a company that puts fun first in its dining and bar options. This boisterous Italian steakhouse has all the bells and whistles that diners would want in the heart of Fulton Market, including a trendy solid-fuel grill where the meats are infused with smokey flavor. The sleek, mid-century space is luxurious, but not over stuffy.

Boka Restaurant Group’s Lakeview complex is fully operational with the debuts of GG’s Chicken Shop, Itoko Sushi, and Little Goat Diner. GG’s is a counter-service restaurant that’s incredibly family-friendly; it even has a space-aged charging table with UV rays in the bathroom. The food centers on chicken which is done fried and roasted. There’s also a special ground burger that gives red meat eaters an intriguing choice. Itoko is the little sibling of Momotaro, Boka’s lauded Fulton Market sushi spot. Chef Gene Kato handles the menu, even the desserts, and while there’s no fancy omakase option, North Siders have an elegant choice that will leave them fulfilled with unique and fresh fish options. The third leg of the operation, the relocation of Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat, debuted late in April in the former Southport Lanes building.

Miru is the full-service restaurant inside the St. Regis, a new skyscraper with a hotel near Navy Pier. The all-day restaurant features sushi and Izakaya fare, plus a traditional American breakfast menu. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises went out of their way to design a restaurant that pushes modern sensibilities and there are also twin terraces for gorgeous views of Lake Michigan. As a bonus, Miru also serves a Japanese breakfast platter, something that’s hard to find in Chicago.

Bowls of ramen noodles without the customary rich broth are gaining popularity in America, and Chicago’s Chinatown has welcomed one of the world’s biggest chains that specialize in the dish. Kajiken debuted in Japan and is part of the squadron of new restaurants Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan) is bringing to Chicago to help further diversify Asian cuisine options in the city.

For more than three decades, Oggi Trattoria earned West Town’s trust with an Italian-American menu of pizzas and pasta. The neighborhood was up in arms when the restaurant closed, but the Padilla family has reopened in a new space a few blocks away. For families and folks who want a dependable restaurant nearby, Oggi Trattoria shines.